"Written on Their Hears" Rev. Andrew Guthrie

Jeremiah 31: 27-34

27 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. 28 And just as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord. 29 In those days they shall no longer say:

“The parents have eaten sour grapes, 

    and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”

30 But all shall die for their own sins; the teeth of the one who eats sour grapes shall be set on edge.

31 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 No longer shall they teach one another or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.

Sermon 2025-09-28

We're wrapping up our sermon series on Jeremiah today. We've talked about what it looks like to challenge the illusions in our world...to remember the gift that is creation, and the way that gift is distorted...to use lament as a tool of joining with those who are left behind in society... and we've even talked about the faithfulness of God, and the fact that YHWH will not abandon the people.

But if we go back to the first sermon in this series, I'll hope you'll remember what the objective of prophetic work is: it's to spark a new kind of imagination- to begin to envision what the world could look like.

On Friday night, Amanda and I came here to see the Vocal Theory Project. As we walked in, the concert had already started, but they were singing the song "Pure Imagination." You probably know it:

Come with me and you'll be 

In a world of pure imagination 

Take a look and you'll see 

Into your imagination

If you want to view paradise 

Simply look around and view it

Anything you want to, do it 

Want to change the world? 

There's nothing to it

That's what we think of when we think of that term: imagination is something that cannot exist. It's fixed on the pretend world.

But when we talk about imagination when we talk about prophets, we're talking about the way we see the world, its purpose, and it's potential. What COULD be? What can we imagine? Because we get inundated so often with what is, that our ability to believe that something else might be possible fades away. Sometimes we call it being jaded... there's a reason they say idealism fades with age- the more you've seen of this world, the more you believe the worst in it.

That's what all of this has been about- how do you keep alive the imagination that something can be better, even when what you see feels like it's getting worse?

Lament reminds us that it's OK to stop and cry out, especially if that keeps alive your passion for the need for justice in the world.

Receiving creation as a gift reminds us to keep going because this place, this creation, is pretty great. And it could be better.

We're keeping alive the imagination that sparks action. If you didn't believe things could be better, why would you hope for anything different?

The work of the prophet is concerned with this kind of imagination.

Today, we get to the language of hope and imagination within Jeremiah. It begins with a continued lament about the covenant that Israel broke- the law written out on tablets and in books, meant to set Israel apart, meant to call them to live differently than the other nations around them. And they haven't done that.

There's this pattern in scripture that we've talked about...a covenant is made, and then it's broken, or misused, or whatever other way humans come up to be unfaithful over time, and then there is this correction, and then a reentry into covenant. It's as though there is another try. Another chance to do it the right way. And we can imagine- there is no human end to this cycle. Just us, trying our best to get better, knowing that we will probably at some point faith, and God bringing us back.

This covenant, which is the way in which God chooses to interact with creation, has not worked as intended. And so, God imagines a new covenant, a new way of interaction with the world. The vision is not one of rule following; rather, it's a vision of a people whose hearts have been changed. The law is no longer written down on paper, it's no longer adjudicated in courtrooms, but love and kindness and mercy are just the way it is. It's as though the law has become what we today would call common sense.

That’s the end goal, if you can imagine it: a world in which we don't even have to think twice. It's like the lyrics in John Lennons song: imagine there's no religion. Imagine there're no countries, no war...

Imagine that world. Imagine if, rather than having to call out injustice, having to call out oppression, having to call out offensive and harmful language...what if things were just as they ought to be? If people treated others with respect, just because that’s what you do…that’d be a bad day for the owners of social media sites.

It's idealistic, right? It's almost impossible to believe that it might exist. And, for humans, it's certainly impossible. But not for God. And God will continue to come along side of us. We just have to keep our eyes focused. We have to imagine what the world could be like. And then live for that.

I was in a clergy circle once with some colleagues. The one leading our group was, at that time, a pastor, but at other times in life had worn many other hats, one of which has been community organizer. he had worked with communities organizing for justice, similar to what ICARE does in our community.

He led us through this exercise that I've never forgotten.

He asked us to imagine what it would be like if everything we wanted for our neighborhoods were true. We started naming things: what if everyone had all the food they needed? What if they had secure housing? Done and done. What if healthcare was available for everyone? What if belonging and acceptance was the rule of community? Done.

He asked us what would be left? What would the world look like? His point was to get us to start dreaming not just of the next project, not the next mission, not the next program…but something bigger. What would the world look like if it was the way it ought to be? What would be happening on your street if everything was at it should be?

Well, there was a lot of dreaming… everyone had adequate housing…done. And everyone had access to food. Done. Everyone had stable quality work. Done. We kept going through everything we could dream of, and once we got past the practical stuff, the real dreaming began. And what I remember from it, once we got to the real dreaming, was a block party with foods from around the world, and the entertainment would be a band made up of members of the roots and rage against the machine…

I don’t remember how we got to that point…but it took some imagination.

His point was, if we realized that the world we were working for, that the point of all of our justice work was a world where everything was at it should be...well, it would keep alive our imaginations. Because we may not get to that world in our life times...but, we could all admit: it's worth it to try.

That's the point of imagination. Not just imagining a world where anything is possible; rather, imagining the world as we would like it to be, and then doing the work to get there. And, we get this message from God that reveals some of what it would be like: like God's law is written on their hearts. Like people don't even need reminders to treat others with dignity and respect. Like love and grace and mercy are no longer absent from our world, but so present that we don't even realize they are there. Imagine a world where everything is simply as it should be.

And, when the world doesn't live up to your imagination...well, lament, cry out, express outrage and anger...or learn to see in creation the gift of it all- take a day at the beach. Find something to be grateful for, just long enough to remember why it's worth it to keep working for a better world.

As we wrap up this series, and think about our own work as prophets, what is it you see? What do you imagine would be possible if everything were possible? If every wish we had for our neighborhood were fulfilled, what would be left? All hunger and housing insecurity, gone. All loneliness and despair, gone. All people connected to one another through love and mutual respect. What would be left? What can you imagine?

Perhaps this feels like living in a world of pure imagination…

But imagination is always the first step towards a better world.

Amen